St. Ignatius of Antioch is one of the earliest of the early Church fathers. Only Clement of Rome leaves us a written record that is earlier (outside the New Testament, and the Didache, which is anonymous). Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch, in Syria, arrested for spreading the Christian faith - and because he was the bishop, and taken to Rome for execution. Along the way he wrote letters to the Christians in cities where he (apparently) knew the bishop and his colleagues had asked him to write letters of encouragement to their churches. These letters are a very early and important witness to several aspects of the early Church, including the hierarchy and the office of bishop. He was martyred in the Colosseum in Rome in about the year 110.
This morning - as I often do on a saint's feast day - I wanted to ask St. Ignatius of Antioch for his intercession. I found myself asking him to pray for me in my role as husband and father, provider and protector for my family. Like many of you, I assume, my immediate family includes people who live under my roof, and people who don't (my sons are grown and married, and have roofs of their own). I have learned from experience that when your children move out and are on their own, that's when you really learn that you can't protect them, and you have to rely on God. So I ask the saints to pray with me for them. Ignatius of Antioch worried about his people, the Christians of Antioch, as he was being taken away, but he said he had peace about it because now Jesus himself would be their bishop. (They did eventually get another bishop, of course, but you get the idea.) So as our children create families of their own, we pray that someone even better than us will fill in for the roles we can't fulfill in person all the time. That God would be their father, and Mary would be their mother, and the Church would be their home and family.
I'm reminded of a prayer that St. Mother Teresa prayed regularly - short and sweet, it was: "Mary, Mother of God, be Mother to me now."
I'm also reminded of a song by John Michael Talbot, which is really a prayer for those who have let their connection to the Church slip away, or who have fallen into watered down expressions of Christianity - the song goes something like this:
"Come home, home, little children
Come home, come home to stay
Come home to a Father who loves you
Come home to a Mother who prays..."
Dear friends - Please take 10 minutes to watch this personal update from me:
I'm back, up and running, and ready to go - I should have a new JOURNEY episode within the next week or so - and because you are my loyal peeps, here is an exclusive, just-for-you, behind the scenes SNEAK PEEK into my new office:
I mentioned in The Journey that I wrote a song based on Isaiah 2, which is one of my favorite OT passages:
In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain, and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it. Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
I hope you like the song!
The problem with us men is that often we don't have the wisdom to be a father until we're a grandfather.
This may sounds like some ironic statement that makes you nod your head in agreement but shrug your shoulders in resignation, thinking, well there's nothing we can do about that. But the practical application of that is that it demonstrates how important it is for kids to grow up around their grandparents. But as in our culture the family becomes ever more fractured and spread out, that is harder and harder to do.
Lately I've been thinking that part of the problem is the whole concept of college. It used to be that everyone thought a person had to go to college to make a good living. Not only is that not the case (truck drivers make more money than I do) but now college has gone from useless to actually ruining our kids. But when I went to college, what you were supposed to do is figure out what career you wanted (as if anyone knows that at age 18) and then go away to the college ...
And don't forget, if you would like to read my latest novel:
The Sword and the Clover - just let me know by email.
I'm happy to send you the PDF version, even if you haven't been a monetary supporter of the community - all I ask is that you don't share it with anyone else.
My email address:
Keep in touch!
JIm
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